Cutter and feeder for potato planters



Nov. 11, 1924. 1,515,049

- c. JENKINS CUTTER AND FEEDER EER PTATo PLANTERS Filed Dec. 3l 1923 2Sheets-Sheet l J VTVI\ 'la l l INVENTOR Nov. 11 1924.

C. JENKINS CUTTER AND FEEDER4 FOR POTATO PLANTERS Filed DeC. 3l'. 19232Sheets-5heet INVENTOR ffmmww ATTO R N EY dis Patented Nov. ll, w24.

CHARLES JENKINS, 0F DELEVAN, NEW YORK.

CUTTER- y.AND FEEDER FOR EO'IATO LANTERS.

Application filed December 31, 1923. Serial No. 683,783.

T ,all whom t may concern.'

'Be it known `that l, CHARLES JENKiNs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dclevainin the county of Cattaraugus and rState of New York,have invented new and useful Cutters and Feeders for Potato may beeconomically manufactured land easily assembled. and in which theLb-lades forming radial partitions between the feed pockets of therotatable member may be easily replaced by others of different numberandinas, so as to vary either the circumferential or radial dimensionsofthe pockets,

.or `both of them as may be desired.

The invention consists further .in various structural-,details andncombinations thereof, which will be more fully described in `connectionwith the accompaying drawings illustra-ting the I`preferred form of theinvention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan View of the invention. Figure 2 is alan view ofthe ho er and .e 1 feeder with tne central member of the ho 5n Yper removed, and a portion of the hopper rim ',biolien away in orderto better illustrate the invention.

Figure 3 isa bottom plan view of the invention.

,Figure e `is a vertical radial .section through a portion of 'thehopper and feed mechanism, and showing the diameter reduced.

`Figure .5 `is a vertical diametric sectional Lview .of the invention.

"ligure Y(iis a plan view o-f the feeder.

Fio'ure 7 is Ya ,horizontal section on the 'linea-17 of Figure 5,looking upward.

'j-*Figuie 18 isa sectional viewl of lthe feed taken on the line 8 8 yofFigure '6. Figure 9 is a detail perspective view of one olf the .feedfingers- Llfiguiie 10 isa detail perspective View of 1one of the feedblades.

The planter, of which my invention forms a part, includes a cylindricalhopper 1 having a lower ylindrical .portion 2 of less dian'ieter thanthe lupper portion, Aand connected therewith by an intermediate.inclined A,portion '3. The. lower portion l2 is provided with a 'bottom4, having an outlet opening at one side from which leads a drill ltube5. The 'bottoni l 'is provided centrally with a vertical vbearing member6, 'in which is-j ournailed la Vvertical shaft 7, having secured to itsupper 'end a circular disk 18 with a` downturned peripheral flange, 9,which rests on the bottoin'l of the hopper. A. second disk 1Q is securedadjacent the disli, and is pro- Vvided with an.upturnedperipheral flange 11,

opposed to the flange 9. il crowned inember l2 rests within the Vfia-nge111, and its sloping surface cooperates with the sloping surface of theportion 3 to direct the potatoes into the annular space betweenthereduced lower portion 2 of the hopper and the flangesf) and 1'1. A

rlhe shaft 7 `has a beveled gear v13 secured to its lower end, whichmeshes with a driving pinion 14 secured to 'the inner en d of thehorizontal shaft 15, supportedfor rotation in the iframe 16 oftheplanter and driven by any suitable means, such as the sprocket gearshown at 17.

The flange 9 is divided intoa plurality of segments of equal lengths bya series of slots 18, through which project an equal number of radialfeed `blades 19, thus dividing the annular space within ythe reducedlportion 2 of the hopper, as shown in Figure 7, into a serie-s ofl equalpockets '20. rlhe inner -end of each blade 19 lhas an upstanding tail21, which projects vupwardly thro-ugh slots 2Q. formed 'in' the disks Sand l0. 'A series of slots 23 Yare forme-d inthe `flange 1`1 ,inthe samevertical'planes withthe slots 18, and receive radial feed 'fingers 24;.'The inner* end of each of these feed lingers is offset, as at 25, andterminates with a lateral hookshaped end26, which is adapted to'be-,insert `ed through an eye Q'in the tail 21 of the correspondingblade 19, and constitute a means 'for locking the blade in position. Thefingers 24 'in addition to locking the-blades y19 in position, cooperatetherewith to form an upward extension of lthe partitions between thepockets e20. fis the potatoes are carried around'in lthese pockets, theyare presented to the cutting edge of the horizontal knife blade 28,which is secured to a flange 29 on thel outside of the hopper, andprojects inwardly across the annularI space within the reduced portion 2of the hopper and above the opening leading' into the drill tube 5.'.lhe outer port-ion of the disk l0 is oil'set upwardly, as shown at 30,in Figures 5 and 8, so as to form an annular channel 8l, which. receivesthe inner end ofthe cutting blade As the feeder rotates with the shaft7, it will be understood that the potatoes within the respective pockets2O are carried around in the annular space within the reduced portion 2,and forced against the cutting blade 28 by the successive blades 19,which pass beneath the cutting blade, and the fingers 24 which passabove the cutting blade. The size of the piece-s which are cut from thepotatoes is determined primarily by the distance between the blade 28,and the bottom of the annular channel. For the purpose of adjusting thedevice to cut pieces of different size, however, a plurality of arcuateslots may be formed in the: bottom of the annular channel in advance ofthe Ycutting blade 28, for removably receiving a similar number ofarcuate ribs 32, thus raising the potatoes before they are presented tothe cutting blade, so that the size of the pieces cut off will. dependupon the vertical thickness of the ribs 32. The blades 19 are providedwith corresponding slots 33 for permitting` said blades to pass over theribs, as the feeder rotates.

The distance between the lower portion 2 of the hopper and the flanges 9and l1 is preferably about three inches, and thek dislrance. between thesuccessive slots 18 is about two inches. Means, however, are providedfor adjusting` the dimensions of the pockets 20. For this purpose, asshown in .Figure 7, l have provided an additional slot 84e in the rim 9,midway between every third slot 18 Iand the succeedingslot 18, so thatby inserting a blade 19 through the slot B4 and ren'ioving the twoblades in the adjacent slots 18, the circumferential dimensions of thepockets may be increased by one-half. Slots 84a are also formed in theflange 11, corresponding to the slots 34 in the Harige 9. Likewise,slots 35 are formed in disks 9 and 11, corresponding to the slots Se and34a.

For reducing the radial dimensions of the pockets, a ring 36 may beinserted within the lower portion 2 of the hopper, as shown in Figure 4,and when this is done, the blades 19 are drawn inwardly and the tails 21inserted through slots 37 formed in the disks 9 and 11, in the sameradial planes as the slots 22, but inwardly thereof. The blades 19 maybe easily changed, simply by removing the crowned central portion 12 ofthe hopper, which permits the fingers 2i to be lifted out of the slots23 or 34a, and detached from the eyes 27. i

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have devised asimple and practical device for the purpose described, which may bemanufactured at a moderate cost, easily assembled, and quickly adjustedto varyv the dimensions of the feed pockets, as well as the size of thepieces to be cut. Although l have described in detail the specificconstruction of the invention in the form shown in the drawings, it isto be understood that this is merely for the purpose of illustration,and that various modifications may be made in the form,4size, proportionand general arrangement of the parts within the scope of what isclaimed, without any material departure from the salient features of theinvention.

lli/That is claimed is:

1. ln a device of the class described, the combination of a hopper, arotatable feeder having a plurality of radial blades forming pockets ofequal width between theml` and means whereby the number and relativepositions of said blades may be changed for adjusting the distancesbetween them so as to form uniform pockets of a different width.

2. ln a device of the class described, the combination of a hopperhaving a cylindrical lower portion, a rotatable feed member concentrictherewith but of smaller diameter thus leaving an annular space withinthe wall of the hopper, a plurality of removable blades carried by thefeed member and extending across said annular space and dividing it intoequal pockets, and means for adjusting said blades circumferentially andradially. Y

ln a device of the class described, a rotatable feed member havingperipheral cylindrical fiange portions concentric with the anis ofrotation and provided with series of slots arranged in pairs, each pairbeing in the same vertical plane, a blade projecting radially throughthe lower slot of each pair and having at its inner end an upwardlyprojecting tail, a linger projecting radially through the upper slot andsecured at its inner end to the tail of the corresponding blade, andmeans for securing said lingers and blades against radial movement.

ln a device of the class described, a rotatable feed member havingperipheral flange portions concentric with the aXis of rotation andprovided with series of slots arranged in pairs, each pair being in thesame vertical plane, a blade projecting radially through the lower slotin each pair and having at its innerend an upwardly projecting tail, afinger projecting radially through the upper slot and removably securedat its inner end to the tail of the corresponding blade, a centralmember resting on said fingers within the flange portion of the feedmember and covering the inner ends of the fingers, and means engagingthe tail of each blade for preventing radial movement of the lingers andblades.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a hopperhaving an outlet in its bottom at one side thereof, a knife above saidoutlet, a rotatable feeder comprising a circular member, two series ofequally spaced radially projecting elements secured to the circularmember, one series arranged to rotate above the knife and the otherseries below the knife, each element of one series being in the samevertical plane with a corresponding element of the other series andsecured thereto, and means for adjusting the respective elementscireumferentially to form spaces of different widths.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a hopperhaving an outlet in its bottom, a knife above said outlet, a rotatablefeeder within the hopper comprising a horizontal circular member, twoseries of equally spaced radially projecting elements secured to thecircular member, one series arranged to rotate above the knife and theother series below the knife, each element of one series being in thesame vertical plane with a corresponding element of the other series andsecured thereto, means for adjusting the respective elementscircumferentially and radially, and means engageable with one element ofeach series to secure said elements in their adjusted positions.

7. In a device of the class described, a ro tatable feeder comprising arotatable circular member having a peripheral `flange portion, acircular series of radial slots in the circular member within the iangeportion, slots in the upper and lower edges of the flange portion in thesame vertical planes as said radial slots, spaced radial elementsarranged in pairs, each pair being secured together and secured inrespective slots.

8. In a device of the class described, a rotatable feeder comprising acircular member having a peripheral flange portion, a circular series ofradial slots in the circular member within the flange portion and con-.flange portions concentric with the aXis of rotation and provided withseries of slots arranged in pairs, each pair being in the same verticalplane, a blade projecting radially through the lower slot in each pair'and having at its inner end an upwardly projecting tail, a lingerprojecting radially through the upper slot and removably secured at itsinner end to the tail of the corresponding blade, and means engaging thetail of each blade for preventing radial movement of the lingers andblades.

l0. In a device of the class described, the combination of a hopperhaving an outlet in its bottom at one side thereof, a knife above saidoutlet, a rotatable feeder comprising a circular member, two series ofequally spaced radially projecting elements secured to thecircularmember, one series arranged to rotate above the knife and theother series below the knife, and means for adjusting the respectiveelements circumferentially to form spaces of diiferent widths.

11. In a. device of the class described, the combination of a hopperhaving an outlet in its bottom, a knife above said outlet, a rotatablefeeder within the hopper, comprising a horizontal circular member, twoseries of equally spaced radially projecting elements secured to thecircular member, one series arranged to rotate above the knife and theother series below the knife, means for adjusting the respectiveelements circumferentially and radially, and means engageable with oneelement of each series to secure said elements in their adjustedpositions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing my own, I have hereto aflixed mysignature.

CHARLES JENKINS.

